Jul 28, 2009 5:23 am US/Central
Storms Spawn Tornadoes In WI, Damage Near Chicago
Serious Damage Reported In Elgin
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Storms overnight sent trees crashing down onto houses in Elgin.
CBS
Overnight storms produced tornadoes in Wisconsin, and left severe damage in some far northwest suburban areas outside Chicago.
Heavy winds came through the Chicago area overnight. CBS 2's Ed Curran reported that winds topped out at speeds greater than 50 mph.
Winds gusted to 52 mph in Addison, 48 mph in Berwyn, 54 mph in Waukegan, and 50 mph in Portage, Ind., Curran reported.
Parts of Elgin were hit especially hard by the storms. Elgin police and firefighters responded to several locations where trees fell on homes, cars and power lines.
One downed tree actually proved helpful to police.
Officers arrested the driver of a pickup truck on suspicion of driving drunk, after he tried to drive right over a tree brought down by high winds. He obviously didn't get very far.
The storms left their worst trail of damage in southern Wisconsin. When the storms first swept in just before 5 p.m., the National Weather Service called tornado warnings for portions of nine Wisconsin counties, and flash flood warnings for three.
La Crosse, Wis., CBS affiliate WKBT-TV reported that tornado touchdowns were confirmed near Mt. Sterling in Crawford County, near the southwest corner of the state.
Crawford County Emergency Management said the tornadoes touched down near County Highway C between state highways 27 and 131. Early reports said a couple of old barns and trees were taken down, WKBT reported.
"We saw the vortex turning, then saw it drop....we followed it north and that's when I said it's heading towards my house," witness Jan Olson told WKBT. The tornado took out Olson's barn and uprooted trees in her yard.
Flooding and damage to trees, crops and power lines were reported in several areas,
Madison, Wis., CBS affiliate WISC-TV reported. In some areas, rainfall had been forecast at 2 to 4 inches per hour.
Back in the Chicago area, Curran reports that showers and possibly thunderstorms will persist through the midday hours.
CBS 2's Ed Curran contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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